Porte du Peyrou
The Porte du Peyrou is a triumphal arch in the southern French city of Montpellier . It forms the eastern access to the representative green area Promendade du Peyrou or Place royale du Peyrou . The term Peyrou comes from the Occitan language and means something like stony , French pierreux .
There was once a drawbridge behind the gate to cross the city moat. Today there is a modern, 28 m wide road bridge here. The course of the former city moat can still be seen through an underpass . The building was built until 1693 according to plans by François Dorbay, who was based on the Parisian Porte Saint-Martin . The rusticated surface of the arch gives it a warlike charm. The coat of arms of the Bourbons is emblazoned above the passage .
Monument to Louis XIV.
Further elements were added later, so that the representative city gate became a memorial for Louis XIV, who died in 1715 : the metopes show the royal monogram (two intertwined L s), faces surrounded by sunbeams as an allusion to his epithet the Sun King and all sorts of military equipment . A wide parapet rests on it with the following inscription:
LUDOVICO MAGNO LXXII ANNOS REGNANTE
DISSOCIATIS REPRESSIS CONCILIATIS GENTIBUS
QUARTUOR DECENNALI BELLO CONJURATIS
PAX TERRA MARIQUE PARTA 1715
The four medallions, which are located on both sides to the right and left of the passage, were also added after Ludwig's death. They allegorically depict King Ludwig's greatest "achievements". There are trophy reliefs above them .
Victoria crowns Louis XIV, depicted as Hercules, with a laurel wreath. A defeated soldier lies at his feet.
The conquest of Namur in 1692. The Dutch Republic kneeling before the victorious king gives him the keys to the city. At his feet lies a defeated lion like the one found in the coat of arms of the Dutch Republic.
The construction of the Canal du Midi . A young woman and an old man are shown shaking hands. They are personifications of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic Ocean , which the channel connects.
The Edict of Fontainebleau , which again restricted religious freedom. The central female figure is surrounded by pleading and defeated people as well as collapsing buildings and books lying on the ground.
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Coordinates: 43 ° 36 ′ 40 ″ N , 3 ° 52 ′ 20.6 ″ E